


Assurance

by BumbleBuzz



Category: Fate/Grand Order
Genre: Fluff, Love Confessions, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Neopronouns Bedivere, Non-Binary Bedivere, Non-Binary Ritsuka, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:14:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27119411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BumbleBuzz/pseuds/BumbleBuzz
Summary: Bedivere has feelings for Ritsuka. Carmilla gives zem the not-so-gentle push ze needs.
Relationships: Bedivere | Saber/Fujimaru Ritsuka
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	Assurance

**Author's Note:**

> Bedivere and Ritsuka are both non-binary in this fic and Bedivere will use ze/zem/zyr pronouns. So if you don't like that then read no further I guess.

Bedivere was just beginning to settle down for the night when zyr phone began to vibrate. A quick glance at the screen told zem it was from zyr Master, Ritsuka. Ze didn’t hesitate to pick up the call.

“Hello, Master,” Bedivere answered. “Is there something I can do for you?”

“Yeah, if you’ve got time,” Ritsuka said. “Could you make some tea and bring it to my room?”

“Of course,” Bedivere said. “Since it’s late, you wouldn’t want anything caffeinated, correct?”

“You know me so well,” Ritsuka laughed. “Make some for yourself too, if you want any.” Upon hearing that, something in Bedivere’s brain clicked and ze understood what Ritsuka actually wanted.

“Were you wanting me to keep you company for a while?” ze asked.

“Ah, you saw right through me,” Ritsuka sighed in mock defeat. “Yeah, you’re right. There’s something I want to talk about too, if you’re willing. But you don’t have to stay!” they added hastily. “You don’t have to at all, but if you’re comfortable with it...” Ritsuka fell silent.

“It’s no problem at all,” Bedivere said. “I will stay with you as long as you like.”

“Thanks, Sir Bedivere. I really need it tonight. Well, I’ll see you in a bit.” Ritsuka exhaled before ending the call, prompting Bedivere to put zyr phone away and make for the kitchen.

Something’s wrong, ze thought as ze prepared a cup of tea. Something in Ritsuka’s tone was setting off alarm bells in Bedivere’s head. They sounded very nervous and on edge. Bedivere knew that Ritsuka was prone to sudden bouts of anxiety; perhaps that was the problem?

“Sir Bedivere. What brings you here tonight?” Bedivere nearly jumped, turning to see who had spoken.

“Ah, Lady Carmilla,” ze said. “I was not expecting to see you here. Is there something I can help you with?”

“Certainly. I would like to speak candidly with you for a moment,” Carmilla said. “Don’t think I haven’t seen the way you look at Master. There’s something going on with you two.” Bedivere gulped.

“Well, um... Of course I feel strongly towards Master. I am sworn to protect them,” ze said slowly, picking their words carefully. Carmilla sighed.

“You love them and you know it,” she said plainly. Bedivere looked down and away, feeling the blood rise to zyr face.

“...Perhaps,” ze said quietly. “But I’m sure it’s one-sided, so I’ve decided not to-”

“How stupid are you?” Carmilla interjected. “They feel the same way about you. It’s written all over their face every time they speak to you. Have you not noticed how they get twice as fidgety around you, or the way they blush when you smile? It’s painfully obvious, yet both of you refuse to act on your feelings. So tonight, you’re going to listen to what Master has to say and tell them how you truly feel about them. Do you understand, Sir Bedivere?”

“Yes, ma’am,” ze said hastily. “I’ll tell them. And you’re completely certain they return my feelings?” Carmilla rolled her eyes.

“Did you listen to anything I just told you?” she grumbled. “Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter. Just do it. I promise you, it’s not that bad once you just say it.” Bedivere nodded.

“Is that all you wanted to say to me?” ze asked hesitantly.

“Oh, trust me, there’s plenty more I would like to say to you,” Carmilla smiled with a hint of danger. “But I’ll save it for now. Good night, Sir Bedivere.” With that, she turned and left the kitchen, soon disappearing out of sight.

Bedivere numbly finished preparing the tea and loaded it onto a tray. Ze hurried to Ritsuka’s room, trying to arrive before the drink got too cold. Along the way, ze pondered what Carmilla had said. Did Ritsuka truly feel the same way about zem? I suppose I’ll find out sooner or later, Bedivere thought to zemself, slightly nervous about what could happen to zem if ze didn’t say anything. Ze raised zyr hand and knocked on Ritsuka’s door. It slid open almost immediately, the noise causing Ritsuka to turn their head.

“Come on in,” they said, running their hands through their hair. Bedivere stepped into the room, the door closing shut behind zem.

“Good evening, Master,” ze greeted. “I’ve brought the tea as you requested. My apologies for the delay, I got... sidetracked.” Ritsuka shook their head.

“It’s no problem. Just set it down there,” they said, gesturing towards the bedside table. “And come sit over here so we can talk,” they added, moving over in the bed and patting the side. Bedivere did as ze was told, sitting a respectful distance from Ritsuka.

“Thank you for inviting me,” Bedivere said. “What was it you wanted to talk about?” Ritsuka wordlessly grabbed their cup of tea and took a long sip before saying anything.

“I’m sorry, it’s just, well. It’s the kind of thing that’s really hard to say,” they admitted, tapping on the side of their cup. “So I just need a minute to collect my thoughts.” Bedivere nodded.

“Take as much time as you need, Master,” ze reassured. “I’m not going anywhere.”

As Ritsuka was silent, occasionally drinking from their cup, Bedivere’s thoughts began to wander. What was it that they wanted to tell zem? After hearing what Carmilla had said earlier, Bedivere had a sneaking suspicion, but ze didn’t dare to get zyr hopes up. Still, ze had made a promise to Carmilla, and ze would never go back on zyr word. No sooner had ze finished that thought than Ritsuka let out a cry of frustration.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I just can’t find a way to say it right!” they sighed, burying their face in their hands.

“It’s alright, Master,” Bedivere said. “I understand the feeling all too well. Just take your time.”

“No, you know what? I’m just gonna say it,” Ritsuka declared before taking a deep breath. “Bedivere, I love you! And I know I say it a lot, but I really do mean it. You mean everything to me and I’m so happy that we met. I understand if you don’t feel the same way, but I just couldn’t keep it to myself anymore. ...Sooooo, yeah. That’s all I wanted to say.”

Carmilla had explicitly told Bedivere that Ritsuka returned zyr feelings, but ze was still stunned to hear them say it. However, it was a very pleasant surprise, one that Bedivere had only slightly been expecting. Before ze registered what ze was doing, ze laughed slightly. Ritsuka recoiled with a betrayed look on their face.

“Ah! My apologies, Master, I was not laughing at you,” Bedivere apologized hastily. “I was just... It makes me so happy to hear that you feel the same way. I... love you too. And I would be incredibly honored to call you my lover.” Ritsuka was quiet for a split second before setting down the tea and moving to sit right beside Bedivere, hugging zem tightly.

”Bedi, you have no idea how happy I am right now,” they said quietly. Bedivere smiled and hugged them back.

“Master, I ought to warn you-“ Ze was quickly cut off by Ritsuka.

“When it’s just us, I would rather you call me Ritsuka,” they interrupted.

“As you wish. Ritsuka, I ought to warn you: I am not very, ah, experienced with these sorts of relationships,” Bedivere confessed, avoiding eye contact with Ritsuka.

“Same here,” Ritsuka said sheepishly. “But we’ll figure it out. We can just take it one day at a time. We’ll make it work, OK?” They looked up at Bedivere, who smiled back at them.

“Yes, I have no doubts we’ll work it out,” ze said. “However, I have a request for you. Could we please be... discreet about this, at least at first?” Ritsuka nodded.

“If it would help you feel more comfortable, I’m all for it, Bedi,” they beamed. “I want you to feel comfortable.”

“And I want you to feel comfortable, Ritsuka,” Bedivere added. “I will not force you to do anything you might be uncomfortable with.”

“I know you won’t,” Ritsuka giggled. “You’re too much of a sweetheart to do that.” Bedivere flushed slightly, unused to being complimented like this; the pink on zyr cheeks only made Ritsuka laugh more.

“At any rate. I hope you enjoyed the tea,” Bedivere said a little awkwardly, unsure of zemself as ze separated from Ritsuka.

“It was really good,” Ritsuka complimented. “Thanks for making it. You’re better at this kind of stuff than I am.”

“I am always happy to serve you in any way I can,” Bedivere said. “That is something I take great pride in.”

“I rely on you for a lot. But I also want you to know that you can rely on me too, alright?” Ritsuka said, taking Bedivere’s hand in their own. “A relationship should be 50/50. I wouldn’t be happy just being on the receiving end all the time. I guess what I’m trying to say is, I want you to know that you can come to me as well.”

“I wouldn’t want to burden you with anything trivial,” Bedivere said almost instantly.

“If it would actually be a burden to me, it’s probably not trivial,” Ritsuka pointed out. “And I didn’t say you have to talk to me. I just want you to know you can, alright?” They went in for another hug. Bedivere gladly accepted, glancing at the clock over Ritsuka’s shoulder. It was already almost 11 PM.

“It’s getting late. I don’t want to keep you up too long,” Bedivere murmured quietly; Ritsuka drew back, pouting. “You have a lot to do tomorrow. I ought to let you get some rest.” Ritsuka sighed.

“I hate that you’re right,” they grumbled. Bedivere stood up, grabbed the tray and now empty cup, and made to walk away, but Ritsuka grabbed zyr hand suddenly, prompting zem to turn around.

“I love you,” they said softly, squeezing Bedivere’s hand. Ze smiled and kissed Ritsuka’s hand tenderly.

“I love you too. Sweet dreams,” Bedivere said, letting go of Ritsuka’s hand and turning to the door.

“Can you get the lights, please?” ze heard from across the room.

“Certainly,” ze replied, turning the lights off.

“Thank you. Goodnight, Bedivere,” Ritsuka said before settling back down in their bed and turning away.

“Goodnight, Ritsuka.” With that, Bedivere exited, sighing in contentment as the door closed behind zem. Ze started to head to the kitchen to put away the cup and tray, but stopped dead in zyr tracks at the sound of heels clicking behind zem. Bedivere instantly knew who it was.

“You told them, I take it,” Carmilla said expectantly. Bedivere nodded.

“Yes, I did. Thank you, Lady Carmilla, for giving me the push I needed,” ze thanked.

“Hmph. Don’t thank me. I still have more to say to you,” Carmilla said, walking up to Bedivere and looking zem dead in the eye. “I expect you to take very good care of Master, you understand? If they tell me you’ve harmed so much as a hair on their head, well... You know what I’m capable of, don’t you?” Bedivere nodded emphatically, unable to repress a shudder.

“Y-Yes ma’am! I promise not to harm them!” ze assured her quickly.

“Good. I expect you not to break your word, Sir Bedivere.” Carmilla gave zem an intense glare. “But as long as you keep your promises, you have nothing to fear from me. So wipe that scared look off your face.” She walked past Bedivere calmly, not pausing to look back.

As Bedivere entered the kitchen, zyr anxieties began to rise. Would this relationship really work out in the long run? Would Bedivere be able to properly provide for Ritsuka? What would the other knights think? What would zyr King think? Surely she wouldn’t be angry with zem, right? Wrapping up quickly, Bedivere hurried back to zyr room, struggling to contain zyr emotions.

The moment ze was behind closed doors, the tears began to fall. Bedivere didn’t even know why ze was crying; zyr fears mixed together to form one incomprehensible mess of emotion. Zyr phone suddenly began to ring again, snapping zem out of zyr thoughts. The call was from Ritsuka again. Bedivere took a shaky breath before answering.

“I thought you had gone to bed,” ze said slowly, trying not to let zyr voice betray zyr emotions.

“I thought of something else I wanted to tell you, and- Hey, wait, are you crying?” Ritsuka asked.

“No, I’m alright,” Bedivere lied. “It’s nothing to worry about.”

“Bedivere. You’re a terrible liar and you know it,” Ritsuka said firmly. “Please, if it’s something I could possibly help with, don’t hesitate to tell me.” Bedivere paused and thought for a moment before deciding to tell Ritsuka about zyr worries.

“...I suppose what I’m trying to say is, I’m just worried I won’t be enough for you,” ze concluded.

“I know there’s no magic words I can tell you that will make your self-doubt vanish. But I want you to know that I understand that feeling, OK? And I also want you to know that you’re never not enough for me,” Ritsuka reassured zem. “Neither of us are perfect. But we’re going to make this work.” Bedivere was silent for a moment.

“Thank you for saying that,” ze said quietly. “What was it you wanted to tell me?”

“Oh, I was just wondering. Carmilla didn’t say anything... weird to you, did she?” Ritsuka inquired. “I heard the two of you talking outside the door, but I didn’t hear what you were saying.”

“She essentially threatened to torture me if I hurt you,” Bedivere confessed. Ritsuka laughed nervously.

“Yeah, that sounds like Carmilla. But you’re too sweet to ever hurt me,” they said.

“Correct. I wouldn’t dream of harming you in any way,” Bedivere said. “So I might as well not worry about her. That said, it’s a bit hard not to be intimidated when she’s staring you down...”

“True, true. Well, I was just curious,” Ritsuka said. “You take care, OK? Get some rest. I love you, honey.” Before Bedivere could respond, they ended the call. Smiling to zemself, ze set zyr phone down, switched the lights off, and laid down in bed.

That night, ze only thought of one person.


End file.
